


No Deposit, No Return

by clgfanfic



Category: War of the Worlds (TV)
Genre: F/M, Het
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-13
Updated: 2012-11-13
Packaged: 2017-11-18 13:27:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/561566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clgfanfic/pseuds/clgfanfic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Suzanne and Derriman build a relationship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	No Deposit, No Return

**Author's Note:**

> Originally published in the zine Business Associates #3 under the pen name Laura Brush.

_"Now?"_

 

          Suzanne looked down at the three long-stem red rose buds in their crystal vase.  Three roses, for three months.

          Had it only been three months?

          She shook her head.  God it felt good, having a love in her life again.  She almost giggled.  It was so… odd.  Impossible.  Frightening.

          She was caught in the middle of a war with aliens from outer space, living at a top secret government safe house, and seeing a soldier.  The daughter of a Naval officer, the niece of an Army general, Suzanne McCullough was falling in love with Sergeant John Michael Derriman.

          She wouldn't have believed the story if she'd seen it on a movie.  But it was real.  Every last weird detail.

          She leaned over, sniffing at the flowers.  The just opening pedals smelled sweet and musty.  The card lay open next to the vase.  "Just wish they were as pretty as you.  Here's to three and counting.  Love, John."

          Picking up the card, she folded it closed and slipped it into her desk drawer.  Polishing the top with her open palm, she wondered why she'd wanted the small writing desk in her bedroom.  She never used it.  But it did make the perfect place for a vase with roses.

          Walking to the open window, she leaned against the wall and looked out across the Cottage grounds.  They were beautiful – green and lush.  If they were there for any other reason…

          No.  There was no use dealing with what might have been.

          Still, she couldn't keep the thoughts locked up.  Would she have been attracted to John if she'd met him outside the insanity of the Blackwood Project and their mission?

          There was no way to know.  Did it even matter?  If it wasn't for the Project she'd be just another microbiologist, competing for grants and tenure, raising Debi alone, trying to convince herself that what she was doing was important, that not having a man in her life was just one of the sacrifices she had to make to get ahead…

          It was silly, stupid even, to get emotionally involved with a man who was putting his life on the line every day.  Not that she wasn't doing the same, but Paul made sure that risk was as small as possible, and he did that by putting his own and the Omega soldiers more at risk.

          What if he was killed protecting her?  They'd already lost soldiers to their fight with the aliens, and more were bound to die before it was over.

          She walked over to her bed and sank down on the quilted comforter.  The hours she spent with John were like a salve to burned and chapped skin, and she wasn't sure she could keep it together if it wasn't for the moments of escape.

          "You're thinking too much," she chided herself out loud.

          Shaking her head, she stood and headed for the door.

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

          First Sergeant John Derriman stood in front of the bathroom mirror, scowling. "You're old," he said.

          He shook his head.  "Too fuckin' old for this shit."  He scowled at himself.  "Courtin'?  You've gotta be crazy."

          "Sarge, you okay?" Norah called.

          "Yeah, I'm fine," he called back.

          "A few of us wouldn't mind getting a crack at the head, John," she said.

          Derriman glanced guiltily at his watch.  He had been in there a little while.  "Okay, I'll be right out."

          Quickly stepping into his jeans and buttoning up his shirt, John combed his hair for the seventh time in five minutes, grabbed his socks and escaped past a grinning Coleman.

          She gave him a lusty wolf-call.

          He sped up, slipping into his room and shutting the door behind him.  He leaned against the wood, shut his eyes, and muttered, "Shit, shit, shit…"

          Pushing off, he walked to the narrow bed and sat down, drawing on the socks and then reaching for his boots.

          She's beautiful, smart, young…  What the hell do you think you're doing?

          Not to mention the fact that you're out there, every day, with your ass on the line…  Hell, _she's_ out there.  What the hell are we doing?

          "Nothin's gonna happen to you," he said softly, the determination rolling across the room.  "Not one damned thing."

          Standing, he stalked to the door.

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

          "It's beautiful," Suzanne sighed, looking off a small cliff to the expanse of the Pacific rolling soft against the shore.

          "Yep," Derriman said, standing behind her, his hands covering her shoulders.

          "You come here a lot?"

          "Now and again.  To think or…"

          "Try to find a little peace?"

          "Yeah," he breathed, moving closer and reveling in the sensations created when she leaned back against him.

          "Do you think we'll ever find peace again?" she asked in a whisper.

          "I do."

          "Sometimes I wonder."

          "Count on it."

          She turned, a small smile playing across her lips.  "How can you be so sure?"

          Derriman chuckled.  "Well, there's a couple of things.  First, you haven't seen anything until the Colonel sets his teeth into something, and this is just about the thickest T-bone he's come across."

          "And?"

          He grinned.  "I'm worse than he is."

          She laughed.  "I find that a little hard to believe."

          Pulling her into a hug, John said softly, "Well, I've got a little more motivation."

          The words wrapped her like a warm blanket and she hugged him tighter.  "Me, too."

          He shook his head against her hair, marveling at the softness and sweet scent.  "What are we doin'?"

          "I don't know," she replied.  "It's crazy to fall in love in the middle of a war."

          He felt his heart stumble in a beat.  "Are— Are you?  In love?"

          Suzanne pulled back just far enough to met his eyes.  "I think so, yes."

          Derriman felt the blush as it turned his normally tanned completion a brilliant red.  Suzanne giggled.  "Me, too."

          He dipped his head, catching her lips slightly parted.  Suzanne moaned slightly, and pressed her hips against his.  Their tongues teased.  He sucked lightly on her bottom lip and felt her sag slightly against him.

          In a smooth motion he scooped Suzanne up, carrying her to a patch of grass near the edge of the bluff.  Lowering her down, he stretched out next to her, pillowing her head in one hand, the other caressing her waist.

          Suzanne smiled, and scooted closer.  Their lips met, more hungrily this time. His hand climbed up, cupping her breast, his thumb softly flicking over her bra-protected nipple.  A soft moan was her reply, and a hand that reached up to the back of his neck, pulling him closer.

          When his chest was brushing against her, she arched up, pressing her breasts against his.  "Oh lordie," he breathed.

          Suzanne giggled.  "I could use a good conversion right about now," she said. "How about you?"

          "Alleluia," he replied, his hands slowly tugging her T-shirt free of her jeans.  With that done, he reached under the soft lavender material and caressed her.

          Suzanne arched up again, giving him the space he needed to reach under her and unfasten her bra.  That done, his fingers set to work, massaging her chest until she squirmed.  Pulling up her T-shirt, John scooted down and lightly kissed her belly-button.

          "Oh, that tickles!" she squealed.

          "It does, does it?" he asked, his tongue flicking out to attack the tiny opening.

          "Ahhh!"

          Suzanne wiggled under the manipulations, her fingers curling into his hair and squeezing.

          He laughed against the soft, smooth skin of her abdomen.  He abandoned the torture, kissing across her skin, and up, nuzzling past the bra and finally sucking gently on her hard nipples.

          "Ah, God," she breathed, her hands tracing down his back and cupping his jean-covered butt.  She squeezed, smiling at the moan it elicited.

          He pulled back, then took her hands in his when she moved them to caress his chest.  "Now, I want you to listen to me, Missy."

          Suzanne cocked her head to one side, wondering where the endearment had come from and why he used it for women.  "I'm listening," she said quietly.

          "I want you to just enjoy."

          Her eyes widened.

          "I want you to just lay still and… enjoy."

          "Okay," she agreed.  "But, I can't promise how long I'll last."

          "Fair enough.  Now, close your eyes."

          Suzanne did so and let her arms rest in the grass, hoping there weren't any ants.

          Kneeling above her, Derriman started his slow assault on her body.  He was soft and rough, tender and hard.  She gasped for breath, trying to remember not to reach out for him.  She wanted to.  She wanted to touch him, kiss him, explore him with fingers, lips, tongue, but she was too weak to move.

          Somehow he removed her clothes, piece by agonizing piece, and she was laying on them, created a soft barrier between her and the grass.  He sucked her toes, kissed her palms, massaged her thighs, nibbled on her hips…  The sensations came and went with dizzying speed and pleasure.

          She wanted him, wanted to feel him filling her.  Her eyes cracked open.  Somehow he'd managed to undress.  The clothes she was laying on were his.

          He smiled down at her.

          "Now?" she sighed.

          He nodded, moving between her legs.

The End


End file.
